The cruise left New Orleans, went up to Vicksburg, Mississippi, and returned to New Orleans. Highlights included 3 plantation homes (each very different), a working cotton plantation with roots going back to the late 1700s, and the Vicksburg Battlefield National Park.

The best thing about the cruise, though, were the staff/cruew and their service service. A cruise director overheard me mentioning how good the peanut butter cookies were, and the day they were featured, I received a plate of them, still warm, in my stateroom! Another passenger was bothered by the engine noise and he was moved to a new, upgraded stateroom. Because the river was at flood stage, some excursions had to be planned on the fly--passengers experienced no disruptions.

The food was excellent all the way around. By the end of the cruise, the staff was calling me by name! Read more